


sunflowers and honeysuckle

by jaemarked



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Insecurities, Light Angst, Long Distance but not really, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:01:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23076691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaemarked/pseuds/jaemarked
Summary: He looks sleepy, because it’s late in LA, and Donghyuck wishes Jaehyun was here next to him instead of on some stupid business trip. His cheeks are puffy, his hair is unruly, and his lips protrude in a tired pout that immediately changes into a smile once he catches sight of Donghyuck.God, he’s so cute. Donghyuck wants to kiss him so badly.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan
Comments: 10
Kudos: 234





	sunflowers and honeysuckle

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mythological](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mythological/gifts).



> this is for mina bc i spammed her w jaehyuck after she hit dm limit

_Honeysuckle symbolizes devoted affection in the form of a lover’s embrace. If you look at the way the honeysuckle clings to its habitat like a post or a wall, it looks very much like a love bind._

Donghyuck has never felt love like this.

He loves his family, of course. He’d do anything for them. And the same goes for his friends—Mark next door, Jeno down the street, and Jaemin and Renjun at school. He loves them dearly, and holds them close to his heart, but this is a different kind of love.

“I’ve missed you,” is the first thing he tells his boyfriend when he picks up his call.

A laugh, low and gorgeous, filters through the speakers and warms Donghyuck’s insides. “I’ve missed you too.”

“When do you come home?” Donghyuck asks, though he already knows the answer. Still, he’s indulged, just like always, and it makes him smile to himself.

“Three more days,” Jaehyun promises. There’s a rustling noise, probably him shifting in bed, and Donghyuck’s phone buzzes with a notification _Baby🍑💕 wants to FaceTime._ Donghyuck hesitates for a moment—he looks like a mess from dance practice, having called Jaehyun just after his shower—but picks up anyway, and he can’t control his pleased grin when Jaehyun’s face pops up on his screen. 

He looks sleepy, because it’s late in LA, and Donghyuck wishes Jaehyun was here next to him instead of on some stupid business trip. His cheeks are puffy, his hair is unruly, and his lips protrude in a tired pout that immediately changes into a smile once he catches sight of Donghyuck.

God, he’s so cute. Donghyuck wants to kiss him so badly. 

“Baby,” Jaehyun says, his voice rough from lack of sleep. It sends shivers down Donghyuck’s spine. “You should dry your hair before you catch a cold.”

“I’ll be fine,” Donghyuck says dismissively. He doesn’t want to waste a second of this phone call. Jaehyun has been gone for a week and a half—his company has him checking on their international headquarters and staying for a three day business conference—and Donghyuck misses him so, so much.

It’s not the first time they’ve been apart, but it scrapes open a new wound in Donghyuck’s heart every time. He hates when he can’t hold Jaehyun in his arms or be held by him. He hates when he can’t sit in Jaehyun’s lap or pinch his cheeks or force him to eat and sleep instead of working too hard. He wants to rest his head on Jaehyun’s chest and he wants Jaehyun to sleep on his lap, but none of those things are possible right now, because Jaehyun is on the other side of the world. 

“You never listen to me,” Jaehyun says, rolling his eyes, but he can’t keep the fondness out of his voice. “How was your day?”

“It was okay,” Donghyuck answers quickly, running his thumb over the honeysuckle tattoo on his wrist. He doesn’t mention how lonely he felt today. Even surrounded by his friends, he doesn’t feel the same without Jaehyun, like something is missing from his very being. “I didn’t do much except class and practice. Jeno and Jaemin are coming over later. How was your day?”

“I didn’t do much either,” Jaehyun says with a laugh, running a hand through his hair. “It was just meeting after meeting. I had to skip lunch because I was running late.”

“But you ate, right?” Donghyuck pouts, unable to stop himself from worrying. 

“I ate, don’t worry,” Jaehyun reassures him. “I ordered room service as soon as I got back to the hotel.”

“Oh, how fancy!” Donghyuck teases with a grin. The first time Jaehyun’s company had put him in a four star hotel, Jaehyun had been ecstatic about being able to order room service. Two years later, he still gets excited about it, and it makes Donghyuck laugh every time. “How’s the view?”

“Amazing,” Jaehyun replies. “I would show you but I’m all snuggled up.”

“You look comfy,” Donghyuck says quietly as Jaehyun yawns.

“I’d be comfier if you were here with me. I really miss you,” Jaehyun says, and Donghyuck _melts,_ his heart stuttering in his chest. Jaehyun isn’t one to shy away from his feelings, but he is much more open about them when he’s tired or drunk. 

“I really miss you too. Three more days, yeah?”

“Three more days,” Jaehyun echoes, and it sounds like a promise. “Next time, you’re coming with me.”

Donghyuck nods, but deep inside he knows it’s not likely. After undergrad, he’ll be pursuing his doctorate, and he definitely won’t have time to spontaneously take a trip whenever Jaehyun’s boss decides to send him all over the world. The CEO of MOON Cosmetics hates air travel, so he sends Jaehyun in his place. In some ways, Jaehyun is the face of the company, and in other ways, he’s the face of the brand, because he models for the products. 

It’s scary how, at twenty five years old, Jaehyun is _this_ successful. Donghyuck always knew that Jaehyun was made for bigger things, but he didn’t realize just how big. Now, he feels like he’s playing catch-up, paling in comparison to his rich, employed boyfriend who’s already been promoted twice since he graduated. Jaehyun always talks about how excited he’ll be to have a _doctor_ boyfriend, and has taken to calling him “Dr. Lee Donghyuck” whenever he can.

“You should sleep,” Donghyuck says when Jaehyun yawns for the third time in six minutes. 

“No,” Jaehyun replies, because he’s a brat when he’s tired, “I wanna talk to you.”

“Baby,” Donghyuck sighs, checking the time and mentally calculating the difference between their time zones. It’s two pm for him, which means it’s three am for Jaehyun. “You need sleep. Don’t you have things to do tomorrow?”

“Press conference at eight,” Jaehyun grumbles, and Donghyuck coos when he buries his face into one of the lush hotel pillows. “Don’t wanna go.”

“But you gotta,” Donghyuck says, curling his legs up underneath him. “Unfortunately. I wish you could skip and come back to me early.”

Jaehyun doesn’t answer, and Donghyuck checks to see if the call has cut out only to be met with his boyfriend’s sleeping face, eyelids shut and lips parted. Donghyuck squints at his phone, wondering if Jaehyun is pranking him. He takes in the dark circles under Jaehyun’s eyes, no longer covered with the concealer he wears on a daily basis. A pang of guilt hits him, knowing that Jaehyun’s busy working hard while he just has classes and dance. Granted, his workload is awful, and he has to log twenty hours a week at the lab, but still. He misses his boyfriend who struggles to sleep without him but can fall asleep on call in mere seconds.

“Jaehyunnie,” Donghyuck whispers, “Jaehyun, wake up babe.”

Jaehyun doesn’t stir, instead letting out a soft sigh that crackles Donghyuck’s speaker. Donghyuck should hang up, especially because Jeno and Jaemin will be here soon but…he misses his boyfriend. 

He lies down on the couch, his own phone one hand and the other curled beneath his cheek, cushioning his head on the arm of the couch. Looking at Jaehyun’s face, it’s almost like they’re together again, sharing the same bed. Donghyuck wants, so badly, to plaster himself to Jaehyun’s back, but he settles for watching him through the screen. If he closes his eyes, he can imagine Jaehyun’s warmth next to him. If he doesn’t open them, the illusion won’t fade, and he won’t have to miss Jaehyun anymore.

The next thing he’s aware of is the sound of the front door shutting and thunderous footsteps. He blinks his eyes open and groans, straightening out his back from where he was curled up on the couch. His eyelids feel heavy, and his mouth feels like it’s been stuffed with cotton. He realizes that he fell asleep, and he immediately grabs for his phone just as Jaemin and Jeno burst into the living room.

“Hey Hyuckie!” Jeno greets loudly.

“Were you napping?” Jaemin asks, then yelps when he nearly trips over Donghyuck’s cat, Starfish. 

“Shh!” Donghyuck hushes as his fingers close around his phone. The call is still going, but luckily Jaehyun hasn’t woken up from how loud his idiotic friends were being. Donghyuck whispers a quick ‘love you’ even though Jaehyun won’t hear it and hangs up the phone.

“Were you on the phone?” Jaemin inquires, finally shooing the cat away. He flops down onto the couch, nearly landing on top of Donghyuck who has to bring his legs in before they get broken. “While you were napping?”

“I was talking to Jaehyun,” Donghyuck explains. “I guess we both fell asleep.”

“Aw, you slept with him!” Jaemin gushes, wiggling his eyebrows. “That’s so adorable. Do you miss your boyfriend Hyuckie? I miss him too, please show me a picture of his handsome face, I’ve been deprived for far too long.”

“Hey,” Jeno protests with a pout, sitting on Jaemin’s other side. He pretends to be hurt, but immediately presses against Jaemin when the other boy reaches for him. Donghyuck feels a stab of loneliness and looks away. Jealousy leaves a foul taste in his mouth, but he can’t help feeling petty. 

“I’m kidding, Jeno. Your handsome face is the only one for me,” Jaemin says, pecking Jeno’s cheek. He turns to Donghyuck, and he must be able to tell how Donghyuck is feeling because he’s immediately smothered in a hug, with Jaemin rubbing his cheek against the top of Donghyuck’s head. “Jaehyun hyung will be back soon, you don’t need to be so sad.”

“I just miss him,” Donghyuck sighs. He gives up on batting Jaemin away and lets himself be held. Jaemin has warm hugs, and while they’re not Jaehyun’s, they still make Donghyuck feel loved. “He’s been going on these trips more frequently.”

“Well he is the Director of Marketing at his company,” Jeno points out, as if they don’t all know that. As if they haven’t tried to get Jaehyun to introduce them to their idol ambassador, Lee Taeyong, for the past six months. “How’s he doing?”

“He’s tired, I think. He won’t admit it but I can just tell. He says he can’t really sleep when I’m not around,” Donghyuck says, the words tumbling out before he can stop them. “He’s really busy all day, and doesn’t get back to the hotel late at night because his colleagues always want him to go for drinks, and he can’t even use me as an excuse because I’m not there, but I couldn’t since midterms are next week and I—”

“Hyuck!” Jeno interrupts, and he doesn’t realize he’s worked himself up until he’s forced to stop. Donghyuck’s hands fly up in shock, touching at his cheeks and feeling dampness under his fingers. Jaemin is holding him even tighter, though he pulls away to give Donghyuck a worried look once he realizes Donghyuck has stopped shaking. “What’s going on? You okay?”

“I just feel so inadequate,” Donghyuck admits, and it’s like a dam has broken in his mind. Tears bubble over and stream down his cheeks before he can stop them, dripping off his chin and staining his shirt. Jaemin and Jeno are all over him, cooing and hugging him and giving him kisses. Donghyuck revels in the attention, ends up switching with Jaemin so he’s in the middle of the two of them. He can’t deny that he craves affection when he feels vulnerable, but somehow his best friends know just what he needs.

“Why baby? What’s going on?” And Donghyuck sniffles a little more at the fact that Jaemin is calling him baby, a pet name he gives Donghyuck whenever he’s sad. 

“I dunno, I just. I just don’t think I’m enough for Jaehyun,” Donghyuck says sadly, and he hides so he can’t see the outraged expressions on his best friends’ faces. 

“If anything, _you’re_ out of _Jaehyun’s_ league. Do you remember how much he chased you back in the day? He knew you would be worth your weight in gold. You’re _priceless_ , Hyuckie. Don’t you ever forget that,” Jaemin says fiercely while Jeno nods along, punctuating each word with a soft jab to Donghyuck’s ribs. Donghyuck squirms away, but he giggles through his tears before he can stop himself. 

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be a party pooper,” Donghyuck sighs once his tears have finally stopped. 

“You’re not,” Jeno replies firmly, wrapping his arms around Donghyuck’s waist. “You’re perfect. You’re too good for Jaehyun and he knows it. He’s never hesitated in getting what he wants, so if he wanted to break up with you, he would have done it by now. But he doesn’t, because he loves you a lot. Trust me, if he didn’t, Nana and I would have killed him a long time ago.”

“As if you could hurt a fly,” Donghyuck teases, and if he doesn’t sound like his usual self, Jeno and Jaemin don’t point it out.

They don’t end up working on the project they were supposed to do. Jaemin insists they have more important things to worry about, so they all move to Donghyuck’s room and curl up in his bed to watch Haikyuu!! and eat all of Donghyuck’s snacks. Jeno comments on how sexy Kageyama is the whole time, and Jaemin and Donghyuck over who the best ace is in the show. It cheers him up right away, especially when a few hours later he gets several texts and snaps from Jaehyun, who is getting ready for his press conference.

Sure, maybe Jaehyun doesn’t come home for another three days. And yeah, Donghyuck misses him a lot, especially when his own insecurities are acting up and making him feel low. But he has his best friends, and Jaehyun always remembers to text every morning and night, so Donghyuck knows he’ll be okay.

Two days later, Donghyuck wakes up and immediately regrets it, whining when the sunlight hits his face. Jeno and Jaemin had slept over for the second night in the row, and neither of them had remembered to close the curtains. Donghyuck’s bed is bathed in the sun rays, and he can’t go back to sleep with how bright it is. Luckily, Jeno had slept in the middle, meaning Donghyuck can get up without disturbing his friends.

A knock on the front door barely filters in his room, muffled by the distance and his closed door. He realizes this is the sound that woke him up, and he stumbles out of his room and towards the front door, rubbing at his eyes. He vaguely wonders what he must look like, his hair probably a mess and his shirt on backwards because he was too lazy to fix it last night, but another knock resounds before he can even think of making himself look presentable.

“Okay, okay, I’m coming,” Donghyuck grumbles, though not loud enough for anyone but himself to hear. He wishes he had just ignored it and stayed in bed as he yawns right when he swings the door open. His eyes water as the light hits him, making his vision blurry, which has to be the only explanation for why he sees Jaehyun standing on his doorstep a full day earlier than he was supposed to get back.

“Hi baby,” Jaehyun says with a cute smile.

Donghyuck blinks.

Shuts the door in his bewildered face.

“I must be dreaming,” Donghyuck says, then yanks open the door again and throws himself at Jaehyun before he can even open his mouth. “Holy fuck. Oh my god, you’re here! What are you doing here? Not that I don’t want you here but! Oh my god!”

“I got an early flight!” Jaehyun says, and he’s laughing so hard that he’s shaking Donghyuck, but he clings on tightly and doesn’t care that Hyuck is practically hanging off of his neck. “I managed to weasel my way out of the last meeting and caught a flight yesterday afternoon.”

“But why?” Donghyuck asks, finally stepping back. Jaehyun still has his suitcase with him. He really came straight from the airport. He doesn’t even wait for Jaehyun to answer before he grabs him by the collar and hauls him down for a kiss. He hasn’t brushed his teeth, and Jaehyun probably hasn’t either, but he doesn’t care. It’s been two long, stressful weeks, and he loathes being apart from his boyfriend. 

“I missed you,” Jaehyun says simply once they’ve broken apart. Donghyuck feels his eyes sting with tears, so he buries his face in Jaehyun’s chest. He smells weird, like a stale airport kind of smell, but he also smells like his cologne and the faint scent of his aftershave. 

This is what it’s like to love with your whole being, Donghyuck thinks as his chest fills with a warm sensation that makes him wonder if he’s glowing. His heart feels fit to burst, and his cheeks ache from the force of his smile. He has never loved like this until Jaehyun, and he never wants to lose this feeling. Jaehyun isn’t his other half, he’s more complementary to Donghyuck’s whole. With Jaehyun by his side, Donghyuck thinks he can take on the world. He feels like he’s about to start sobbing, but he holds it in. He doesn’t want to ruin this moment (or Jaehyun’s expensive cashmere sweater) with his tears. 

“I missed you too,” Donghyuck whispers, reaching up to cup Jaehyun’s face and kiss him again, slowly and sweetly, now that the sense of desperation has dissipated. 

One hand slides down from Jaehyun’s cheek to travel down his arm, and Donghyuck’s fingers curl around his wrist where, beneath the sleeve, lies a sprawling sunflower tattoo—a perfect match to his honeysuckle. 

_Sunflowers symbolize adoration, loyalty and longevity. Much of the meaning of sunflowers stems from its namesake, the sun itself. These flowers are unique in that they have the ability to provide energy in the form of nourishment and vibrancy—attributes which mirror the sun and the energy provided by its heat and light._

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/jaemarkism)  
>  [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/jaemarked)


End file.
